This is our second full day at sea. I’m sitting in a corner at the back of the Augustus conference room on Deck 5 of the Costa Fortuna, trying to be inconspicuous. Kitty Mervine is preparing to give a lecture on — what? Who knows? I suspect pirates will be involved. The lectures have been unpredictable so far, and better for it. Today we’ve had talks on parliamentary procedure (which was actually exciting, believe it or not), “political bias in skepticism,” and —

(By the way, Kitty just said this: “How much does a pirate charge for an ear-piercing? A buccaneer!”  Haha! It’s difficult to concentrate with comedy of this caliber being committed within earshot, but I shall persevere.)

Ah. Kitty just began her lecture, and it’s about what she’s learned since creating her website, Bad Alien. She’s a really fantastic lecturer. Prepared, confident, funny, and wise.

So, today there have been lectures on health care, parliamentary procedure, “political bias in skepticism,” The Million Dollar Challenge, and Sniffex. Yesterday we enjoyed lectures on the nature of faith and the similarities between cognition and Tetris before Randi took the stage for a kind of skeptical This Is Your Life. While Jeff Wagg projected photographs from Randi’s eight decades on Earth across our projector screen, Randi — who hadn’t previously seen the images — riffed on the pictured scenes. At some point, Randi, D.J., Bart and I took part in a panel about the future of the JREF within the broader skeptical movement. Jeff emceed. A thrilling moment: When asked who in attendance were part of a skeptical group in their hometowns, the vast majority of audients threw up their hands. There was much talk of the importance of grassroots skepticism, and how the JREF can integrate more effectively with grassroots skeptical efforts to bring about ch —

(Oh, Kitty just finished her talk. Here’s the scoop: She’s been working for several years now with self-proclaimed alien abductees, and she’s learned a helluvalot. She emphasizes, and says she cannot emphasize enough, the importance of kindness, courtesy, and patience when working with the deluded. She made the obvious-but-not-obvious-enough point that those to whom we show respect are more likely to respect us, and our viewpoints, in turn. Worth keeping in mind.)

The Costa Fortuna is both extremely Italian and extremely anachronistic. A lot of vessels try to bow you over with luxury, and the Fortuna is no exception, but its luxury seems imported from some 1940s vessel-that-never-was. It’s the kind of boat that makes you want to drink dry gin martinis, or maybe Campari. (Alas, most people seem to prefer fruitier fare. A popular selection is a pina colada made with bananas and Bailey’s.) Everything is rococo, brown, and marble. Though twice the size of the Titanic, the boat’s been rocking: the Caribbean has been uncommonly restive this week. We had two mild cases of seasickness in the early going, but everybody seems alright now.

We gather in the evenings in the Michaelangelo dining room. Last night was formal night; my partner and I mowed on Ossobucco with saffron risotto and chatted with a lovely skeptic named Gail about Carol Tavris’s new book. The previous night, the first on the boat, I sat next to Randi as he magically transformed a salt-shaker into an engagement, which he handed to our shipmate, Gordon, who in turn proposed to his girlfriend, Robin. She said yes. There was much applause, and this skeptic got a little weepy.

The lectures have been fine and the dinners have been good, but I think the real work of this cruise is happening in less formal environs. After closing down the Vulcania Disco at 3 a.m.; at the lunch buffet; over coffee in the morning; at a nearly deserted pool bar near the back of the ship. Folks from Singapore, Australia, the UK, the US, and places with less easily placeable accents are getting together, sharing ideas, comparing notes, making fellowship, hatching plans, and getting inspired. It’s a heady feeling.

Tomorrow we spend the day in St. Thomas. Then it’s on to Puerto Rico and Grand Turk. D.J. and/or Jeff and I will keep you posted. ‘Til then, we wish you were here, and hope you’re having a lovely week wherever you are. And we hope you’ll forgive us if we’re taking a while answering your emails. Affordable internet access is hard to come by on the high seas.

Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.

The future of the Science-based Medicine blog: SBM is recruiting new bloggers (David Gorski)  The departure of Dr. Tuteur is an opportunity to fill her slot and increase the scope of the blog with new bloggers in specialties that are not yet represented on the blog. Nominations and self-nominations are solicited.

In desperate times, what works, wins (Peter Lipson) In the aftermath of the Haiti disaster, alternative practitioners flew in to offer the victims everything from Scientology to homeopathy in lieu of conventional medical care. The line of patients waiting to see one naturopath “melted away” when they saw that he was only offering homeopathic remedies to help with post-traumatic stress.

Zeo Personal Sleep Coach (Harriet Hall) Consumers can now measure the quality of their sleep with a bedside device that detects and graphs the stages of sleep. It’s a nifty gadget, but there is no evidence that it improves the outcome of insomnia treatment.

Acupuncture for Depression (Steven Novella)  A new study of acupuncture for major depression during pregnancy is small, improperly blinded and randomized, and its finding of a modest clinical effect does nothing to change the scientific consensus that there is insufficient evidence to recommend acupuncture for depression.

Science-based Chiropractic: An Oxymoron? (Sam Homola) The chiropractic concept of “subluxation” is implausible, and chiropractors have adopted a variety of non-scientific beliefs and treatments. After 43 years as a “science-based” chiropractor, the author sees no hope of reforming chiropractic from within: he thinks it would be better for spinal manipulation therapy to be provided by physical therapists.

Meet me in St. Louis? (David Gorski) A brief announcement that Dr. Gorski is in St. Louis to attend a meeting, in case readers there want to meet him.

A Welcome Upgrade to a Childhood Vaccine – PCV 13 (Joseph Albietz) The pneumococcal vaccine has been a great success: disease from targeted strains of pneumococcus has dropped 99%. But non-targeted strains are still causing disease and killing children: a new version of the vaccine broadens the coverage to target more serotypes.

The 2^nd Yale Research Symposium on Complementary and Integrative Medicine. Part I (Kimball Atwood) The first part of Dr. Atwood’s report on this one-day conference at Yale, describing the talks in detail. The presentations were mostly rational and science-based, with a few exceptions.

Randi welcoming the Amazing Adventurers to the Isaac Asimov Library

Last night, we had a reception at the James Randi Educational Foundation for those folks who are joining us on the Amazing Adventure 5: Skeptics of the Caribbean, which sets sail today. We are off for a week of fun and skepticism, with around 100 of Randi's best friends, including JREF staff like Jeff Wagg, Bart Farkas, and Brandon Thorp, noted skeptics such as Tim Farley, Mark Edward, and Brian Dunning, and beloved members of the JREF community like Kitty Mervine and Naomi Baker. I am happy that my partner, Thomas Donnelly, is able to join us, despite his insanely busy law school schedule.

This is a really international group: one man flew in from Singapore, one flew in from Australia, several from the UK, one from Northern Ireland, and a number from Canada. And there are three folks from Greece attending as well. I think this is also a very young crowd, relative to many other skeptics gatherings I have attended. Most people coming on the cruise are in their 30s or 40s, with a few teenagers, and more than a dozen in their twenties. I like seeing how the worldview that prizes reason, science and humanism that has been advanced for decades by Randi is inspiring enough to younger people for them to spend their spring break in the company of their fellow skeptics.

The Amaz!ng Meeting is on the horizon again! Enthusiasm for TAM increases every year, and every year we have added new speakers and events to the festivities. This year promises to be amongst the most exciting so far, with a great combination of leading thinkers and celebrities and activists, all united to advance critical thinking and skepticism in our world.

Join us for four days of fellowship, fun, and critical thinking this July at TAM 8.

Scheduled to appear:

Workshops:

Science Based Medicine Workshops 1 & 2 – Dr. Steve Novella and a panel of guests will discuss current medical hot topics, and how to apply skepticism and critical thinking to the practice of medicine.

Skepticism 101 – Join the JREF’S own Jeff Wagg for an introduction to the basic concepts of critical thinking and skepticism. Test out your critical thinking knowledge by taking on real-life examples, and learning to apply skepticism without dogma to everyday issues.

Feminist Skepticism – Rebecca Watson hosts an interactive panel discussion with several activists and experts, covering topics such as the lack of women at skeptical events and how feminism is compatible with skepticism.

Teacher's Workshop – Bringing critical thinking into the classroom can be a difficult task. Get tips, tricks, and advice on how to address the concerns of students and teach them the skills to view the world with a discerning eye. Learn how to present critical thinking topics to school boards and parents, and how to achieve results in your district.

Grassroots Workshop – KO Myers and Travis Roy are ready to show you the most effective ways to contribute to the skeptic’s movement. If you are ready to become an activist, this workshop will teach you how and where you can effectively spread your message, and bring a little more critical thinking to the public eye.

Skepticism and Sexuality – Join JREF Challenge Coordinator Alison Smith and a panel of guests on a journey through the myths of sex that will take you through misconceptions about STDs, homosexuality, pregnancy, and even basic anatomy. You must be at least eighteen years of age to attend this workshop.

Learn to Juggle! – Do you want to learn to juggle? Join famous juggler Michael Goudeau in a hands-on training session that will leave you juggling like a pro.

Full workshop descriptions are available here.

Have lunch with James Randi and Richard Dawkins!

Don't miss the opportunity to have an intimate catered luncheon with James Randi, Richard Dawkins, and other TAM luminaries. These events, one each at lunchtime on Friday and Saturday, are limited to 20 people. Reserve your spot now!

Join the Talent Show!

Do you have a talent? Apply now for a slot in The Ham Party II by writing to Alison@randi.org with your full name and details on what you hope to perform. If you are chosen as a performer, you will gain free entrance to the talent show, and will perform in front of an awesome panel of judges. Magician Mac King, John Lennon impersonator Steve Craig, and jazz pianist Mike “Jonesy” Jones will rate your performance and award the top three fantastic prizes. The deadline for submissions is April 1^st, so apply today!  

Our Optional Evening Performances:

Thursday night, the legendary Great Thomsoni and Company take the stage. This award winning comedy magic performance is guaranteed to have you laughing and scratching your head at the same time.

On Friday, join us for the hilarious satire of singer/songwriter Roy Zimmerman. Roy's shows have been a highlight at conferences by the Skeptic Society and CFI, and now for the first time, he graces our stage at TAM. For a sample of his work, visit this link.

After Roy's show, be sure to attend The Ham Party II! This is where YOU can take the stage and show off your talents for the audience and a panel of judges. Prizes will be awarded!

Saturday night, we're proud to offer a very special performance by wonder-worker Michael Weber. Jamy Ian Swiss says "Michael Weber is both a great mind and a great mind-reader — and almost good enough to make me believe he's the real thing! I promise you will be thrilled and amazed by this show — don't miss it!

Through the generosity of Penn & Teller again this year, we are able to offer discounted tickets to their Saturday and Sunday shows at the Rio Hotel and Casino. Transportation is available, so be sure to sign up for that as well as for tickets.

More information about our optional evening events, such as the performances by Michael Weber, The Great Tomsoni, Roy Zimmerman or the talent show, please see our events page.

All this and much, much more!

Register today so you don't miss out on the early registration discount, which ends April 15th!

Harriet Hall, MD, The SkepDoc, discusses her column in O, The Oprah Magazine that focuses on debunking medical myths. She contrasts science-based medicine and “complementary and alternative medicine,” and tells why she objects to the latter term. She details why homeopathy elicits more moral outrage from her than other kinds of CAM remedies. Other topics she addresses include acupuncture, chiropractic, radical life extension, pharmaceutical cognitive enhancers, the difference between fringe-science and pseudoscience, and also the risks of science-based medicine.

Listen at ForGoodReason.org.

I recently had the pleasure of dealing with a very polite young woman who wanted to give me a flyer about a presentation by Eric Hovind, son of the more (in)famous Kent Hovind. A snippet of our conversation went something like this:

Me: Has this been experimentally demonstrated?
Her: Oh, yes.
Me: Can you give me the publication history where I can find this information?
Her: Actually, the atheist organizations don’t want us to publish it.

As may be divined through careful astrology, the conversation went downhill from there. It did give me some ideas, though, that struck me as interesting enough to research further. Presuming she meant that the atheist organizations were preventing them from publishing their information in an academic journal, a resource disparity between creation scientists and atheist organizations should be pretty apparent and easy to identify, and it should favor the atheist organizations. Specifically in the case of non-profit agencies, GuideStar.org should be able to easily find the 990 forms and give us the revenues of the more significant players (revenue in this case being used as a measure of public support and/or interest).

In many ways the Discovery Institute’s often-found publicity of intelligent design has secured it as the foremost organization interested in doing so. Their GuideStar page can be found here, though a free registration is required to view the 990 form. For expediency’s sake, the 2007 990 form (line 12) says that the Discovery Institute took in a total of $4,256,588. (We’re using 2007 because GuideStar as of yet does not have their 2008 form.)

According to GuideStar, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science took in $308,546 for the 2007 fiscal year.

A clear difference is at work here, but it is precisely the opposite of the lady’s claims. On a purely financial level, intelligent design has Dawkins outfinanced by an astounding $3,948,042. However this comparison isn’t quite fair – one would hypothetically donate to the Discovery Institute if they liked intelligent design as a concept, while the RDFRS would receive funds from those who specifically support Richard Dawkins’s drive to promote, well, reason and science through this foundation. Is there some other, more general, evolutionary foundation that might be better able to match the Discovery Institute’s general mandate?

In fact there is. The Evolution Society, chaired by Charles Fenster, a biologist at the University of Maryland, seems to have a general enough mandate — the “STUDY AND PROMOTION OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORIES.” According to GuideStar, in 2007 it took in $416,980. The Discovery Institute thus has them out-financed by $3,839,608.

The financial situation really can’t get much clearer. Atheists are being outspent quite well, or at least those groups are. It’s also worth noting that the Discovery Institute spent over $3 million on “program services” in 2007, more than either of the two atheist organizations made during that same period.

It strikes me, though, that this comment about atheist organizations blocking intelligent design publishing attempts is actually sort of a reverse compliment. If the Pew Foundation’s breakdown of American religious affiliations is correct, 1.6% of Americans self-identify as atheists while 78.4% identify as Christian. The Census Bureau estimates that the 2009 US population was 307,006,550 people.

Presuming the Pew Foundation’s percentages hold true for 2009, there were roughly 240,693,135.2 people who would identify themselves as Christian in 2009 in the United States, and 4,912,104.8 people identifying themselves as atheist. Presuming this woman’s logic to be correct, one atheist is therefore capable of stopping 49 Christians from publishing things about intelligent design.

Martin Ssempa is a pastor from Uganda and the force behind a bill that would cause a lot of homosexuals to become dead precisely and only because they are homosexuals. This hateful excuse for an argument says that privacy extends no further than god’s right hand — or more accurately, the influence of a pastor with dreams of being parochial and small-minded on a continental scale.

When the story hit the MSM, it caused problems for some American Evangelical Christians and their “Church First” method of nation building. Never known as enthusiastic supporters of the LGBT community, American Evangelicals still abandoned Ssempa — at a leisurely pace, and indignant about being expected to choose between a carried-away pastor and sodomites. Though historically uninterested in extending the right of privacy to same-sex sex, as a group they tend not to want to kill people over it.

With his American backers gone, Ssempa’s fortunes seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. Like so many of us, the Pastor found respite in the arms of pornography.

I don’t mean that the Pastor became a consumer of porn. I mean that the Pastor decided to use hot man-on-man action as a tool for ministering to his flock. Pastor Ssempa chose the Ugandan capitol for his frenzy of porn, blame and salvation. There, he is reported to have said:

The major argument homosexuals have is that what people do in the privacy of their bedrooms is nobody's business…

I think we can all agree that the universal recognition of the human right to privacy is in fact a “major argument.” The pastor continued:

…but do you know what they do in their bedrooms?

Faster than you can say “Marty missed the point,” precisely the kind of acts that are none of your business were projected across the walls of that church in Kampala so that every person present could truly understand the aberration they were trying to kill and jail.

Apparently mistaking himself for Sean Hannity, pastor Ssempa then inexplicably aimed his remarks at President Obama. He continued:

Is this what Obama wants to bring to Africa?

Even though “Axelrod” would make a great name for a gay porn star, there is no evidence that the Administration has ever proposed using gay porn as a form of foreign aid.

I imagine the need for church-based pornography likely came from the fact that the real-life homosexuals haven’t followed the Ssempa Plan of annihilating society and bringing down divine wrath; there are no gay Ugandan terrorists threatening to slap on suicide vests if straight Ugandans don’t become sufficiently fabulous. Gays have not sullied the public world they share with heterosexuals, so Ssempa needed to replace their public, neighborly behavior with their private kinks in the minds of his congregation.

Inarguably, there is a great plague of inoffensive people who have never personally wronged Ssempa who are in need of imprisonment and capital harm. They must be alienated from their humanity; their personhood knocked from the mind by images of unspeakably hot perverse sodomy. Flashing images of anyone's carnal two-step  across a big, public wall can probably accomplish that alienation in a hurry. The demonstration allows the hoopleheads to revile the private actions of others without having to consider the potential liability of their own nasty, and still private, junk.

But everyone’s junk is nasty to someone, and if this tactic works, expect the Pastor to arrange viewings of the private acts of the next group he deems offensive to his god of peepshows.

Once again JREF is issuing a call for papers to those who would like to share their work or accomplishments at the eighth annual Amazing Meeting, July 8-11, 2010 in Las Vegas.

Anyone may submit a request to present a paper. If your proposal is accepted you will be allotted 20 minutes for your presentation and an additional 5 minutes for questions and comments from the audience.  Invitations to present will be given to about six proposals. If your proposal is selected for further consideration, a written article and draft of your presentation slides will be required for final consideration. Please visit this link for full details.

Linda accepts flowers which were a small sign of gratitude for her help with The Amaz!ng Meeting. Her husband Karl Shallenberger, a longtime JREF volunteer and advisor, stands to the left.

It is with both sadness and a warm heart that I'm announcing a member of the James Randi Educational Foundation's team has left the organization. A few days ago, Linda Shallenberger retired. She had been wanting to retire for many years, and recently felt it was the right time. Although I had only worked with her directly for four short months, I came to see in her what everyone else close to her saw: diligence, duty, and above all, a sense of devotion to what the foundation stands for, and to Randi himself.

Linda had been with the the JREF nearly since its beginning. Over the years, she helped organize the Amazing Meetings, managed our office in Ft. Lauderdale, handled HR and payroll and the accounting and finances, tracked and fulfilled merchandise orders, in addition to serving as our one-woman fundraising and development department. She consistently went "above and beyond," often doing more work than was required merely to get the job done. And for many skeptics at the grassroots, Linda is their point of contact at the JREF.

We'll miss her, even though we know she will always be part of our family. Reading Randi's message about her retirement will really give you a feeling of how dear she is to everyone at the JREF:

This is a love letter.

Linda Shallenberger joined the JREF team years ago, after we'd suffered through a sequence of other office managers who were - ummm - less than compatable with our goals. With Linda there was no such problem; she had - and has - no illusions about how the world works, that is, when and if it works. Together we shared our astonishment over the nonsense that presented itself for all the years she held forth in our front office, always prepared for some new fragmentation of common sense that would be presented to us, some fresh challenge that would walk in our front door, or an incomprehensible document that we'd have to pore over, trying to decide what some woo-woo was trying to beguile us with. While all these distractions assailed us, the bills got paid, checks got deposited, bizarre emergencies were dealt with, the trash was disposed of, and when I came down with coronary problems and - just recently - my chemotherapy adventure, Linda and her husband Karl were always there to encourage and support me.

Now that Linda has retired from the fray, though she'll always be within reach when needed, we're realizing all the more just what she has meant to us over the years, and she knows full well the love we bear her, and always will. We love you, and we'll miss you. And we're ready to jump if and when you need us. I'll invoke one of my very favorite closing lines here, from the film Casablanca, substituting "Linda" for "Louie": "Linda, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Best wishes to you and Karl in your retirement, Linda. And thank you for being there for the JREF and for Randi all of these years. While I'd say we'll miss you, on the other hand, we know you'll continue to be involved in our efforts, and we look forward to enjoying this next TAM with the both of you.

Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.

The fall of Andrew Wakefield (David Gorski) Andrew Wakefield’s MMR/autism research paper was retracted by the Lancet, he was found guilty of grossly unethical behavior by the British General Medical Council, and his new paper was withdrawn from another journal. Now he has resigned from his position at Thoughtful House, where autistic children are still being studied and treated with very questionable methods. Unsinkable, he plans to “move on to a new phase of leadership in the autism community.”

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Retroviruses: Jumping the Gun (Harriet Hall)  A preliminary report linking CFS with a retrovirus was contradicted by two subsequent studies that failed to find the virus. Some patients and doctors have prematurely and unwisely rushed into testing for the virus and proposing anti-retroviral treatments.

Homeopathy Gets a Reality Check in the UK (Steven Novella)  The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has determined that homeopathy doesn’t work and that the NHS should not pay for it. Their report embodies the core principles of science-based medicine.

Dr. Amy Tuteur has decided to leave Science-Based Medicine (David Gorski) Dr. Tuteur has tendered her resignation. Her posts had stimulated an unprecedented level of discussion, but she and the editors had differences that they were unable to resolve.

Why You Can’t Depend On The Press for Science Reporting (Val Jones)  Dr. Jones was interviewed for an article on energy medicine, but not a single word of what she said made it into the article, which was full of pseudoscientific arguments, unquestioningly accepted energy medicine, and included no mention of dissenting opinions.

Changing Climate, Changing Infections (Mark Crislip)  When weather changes, the incidence and distribution of infectious diseases change. Dr. Crislip describes changes that have already occurred and predicts more changes that can be expected with global warming.